Interlude
by lady emebalia
Summary: Derek's view on Stiles' and Peter's relationship. Part three in the Play series.


**A/N** _This is the third part of the Play'verse and you probably want to read the other stories first to actually understand this one._

* * *

 **Interlude**

Derek had suspected that there was something going on between Peter and Stiles for a while now but he didn't know.

If they ever decided to officially tell him, he guessed it would be Stiles' job. Stiles was a talker and Peter was Peter who never told him anything without a claw to the throat and a flash of red eyes.

Derek could almost hear Stiles' voice: "Oh mighty alpha, me and Peter? That's a thing now. A thing that's happening. Between us. Sexually. I just wanted you to know because, you know, you're the alpha. So yeah, now you know."

But Stiles never came to him to give him that little speech and he and Peter were careful with whatever they were doing so Derek didn't know. Not for sure.

Derek noticed the marks on Stiles but that didn't have to mean anything. Stiles got hurt. A lot. He never knew when to shut up and he mouthed off to people he shouldn't mouth off to. So he got his ass handed to him on a regular basis. He was also known for getting hurt walking across the room, though.

So the marks could just be collateral damage from Stiles being Stiles or the result of rough sex with a werewolf. Derek guessed it was a mixture of both but he still didn't know.

He did, however, keep a close eye on Peter. Stiles was human and only seventeen and Peter was a manipulative bastard.

Derek saw his suspicions confirmed when Scott started to pay more attention to Stiles and Peter as well. They didn't talk about it but they did their best to watch out for Stiles while they tried to figure out what exactly was going on between those two.

In the end it was neither Stiles nor Peter who confirmed that they were indeed a thing as Stiles would put it. It was Stiles' father.

Derek was on his way back to Beacon Hills when on an empty stretch of the road suddenly the lights of the sheriff's cruiser flashed behind him.

Wondering what was going on, he hadn't been that fast, Derek pulled off the road and waited for the Sheriff to approach him.

"Sir." Derek greeted him through the open window. "Was I too fast?"

"No." The Sheriff hurried to say and if he didn't know better Derek would have guessed that the man was nervous. His heart wasn't quite racing but it was faster than it should be.

"I just wanted to talk to you for a moment." He stepped aside and motioned for him to get out of the car. Curious what this was about Derek opened the door.

"I know about you and Stiles." The Sheriff said.

"What?" He had no idea where this was coming from. There was no him and Stiles.

The Sheriff must have read something in his expression because he raised a hand in a calming manor.

"Don't worry, I'm not going to shoot you." He said with the hint of a smile. "And I'm not going to tell you to stay away from him either. Even if I did, I doubt I can make Stiles stay away from you." He said it with the expression of a father who knew his kid too well.

"Okay." Derek managed to say, mind racing. Obviously the Sheriff knew that Stiles was with someone but was he just guessing here or … "Did Stiles say something about …?" He made a vague gesture.

"Of course not. He probably thought I'd shoot you." Now the Sheriff let out a little laugh. "Especially with the things you're doing, you know, in bed." He was looking everywhere but Derek and he was clearly embarrassed talking about this. However, he seemed to know more about what was going on than Derek.

"But the thing is." He cleared his throat. "I haven't seen my son this happy and content since his mother died." He paused for a second. "So I told him and now I'm telling you, officially I can't know about this because Stiles is still a minor but as long as you're both happy, it's okay with me. But Derek?" The Sheriff gave him a hard look, eyes cold, and Derek had to fight the urge to counter that stare with red.

"You hurt him for real and I will shoot you. Understood?"

"Yes, sir." Was all Derek could say to that. The Sheriff gave him a friendly pat on the shoulder and moments later Derek was alone on the empty road.

The next chance Derek got he shoved Stiles into the nearest convenient wall.

"Care to tell me why your father thinks that we're having kinky sex?"

For a second Stiles blinked at him in confusion, not in the slightest scared by the intimidating alpha looming over him. Not that he'd ever been.

"He talked to you?" Stiles asked. "You didn't tell him that I'm with Peter, did you? No, you didn't because he didn't ground me for life and Peter still has his junk attached. At least he had earlier today." He paused with a frown, probably calculating if his dad had the chance and the time to castrate Peter since then.

"Why does he think that you're with me?" Derek cut in, shoving him a bit higher to get his attention. Stiles stood on his toes now but he still gave him a look that clearly said: "Duh!"

Derek glared at him.

"He's the sheriff, he notices things." Stiles finally started to explain. "That's kind of his job." He tapped Derek's fists still holding him up against the wall and reluctantly Derek eased up a bit.

"Better." Stiles grinned at him. "See, Peter and I … we like it a bit rougher? Anyway, Dad noticed some scratches on me and concluded werewolf. Scott's out, because c'mon, he's like a brother to me, that would just be wrong. Boyd and Erica are an item and totally not the threesome type. At least Boyd isn't. And Isaac? He's Isaac. He would strangle me with his scarf. And not in a good way." A sly smile crept on his lips and Derek really didn't want to know where his mind just went. "Which leaves you, big guy." Stiles tapped Derek's hands again, still fisted in his collar. "I bet he didn't even think of Peter. I don't want him to think of Peter. I don't want him to remember that Peter exists."

In the end Derek agreed to playing his boyfriend as far as the Sheriff was concerned just to shut Stiles up.

After that Stiles and Peter became more open about their relationship. No point in hiding anymore, Derek guessed. Not that they had been hiding in the first place but they hadn't shoved it in people's faces either.

Now they, Stiles more than Peter, mentioned casually that they spent time together and Derek ran into Stiles in Peter's apartment more often.

And Stiles didn't bother to cover up the marks Peter left on his body, mainly his throat and wrists, anymore.

That was when Derek started to worry for real.

Sex with a werewolf could get rough for the human and some people were into that kind of thing, he knew that and Stiles had basically told him that he was one of those people. But what he noticed on Stiles was more than the occasional scratch from a claw or a love bite with a little too much fangs. It was intentional.

Scott had noticed it too and Derek was pretty sure that he had talked to his friend but Stiles insisted that Peter never did something Stiles didn't want.

He didn't like it but there wasn't much they could do except to offer to be there for Stiles and to keep an eye on Peter.

Derek, however, did have a little chat with Peter who also insisted that everything they did was consensual. He gave him the same warning the Sheriff had given him the other day and threw him out of the window to make his point.

For a while things did look good. Stiles sometimes smelled like pain but he also smelled happy and didn't show any sign that he was uncomfortable in Peter's presence. Quite the opposite.

After their so called play nights, and after Derek had seen Scott having a meltdown over a sharpie he didn't dare to even think about what they were doing on those dates, Stiles usually was sore and stiff, sometimes even limping, but he was brimming with endorphins and he had the weekend to recover which he often did in his pajamas on Peter's couch, watching cartoons.

It was this domestic vibe that convinced Derek that things were okay between them and that Peter wasn't abusing Stiles. He still kept an eye on them, though. Just because things looked good on the outside didn't mean they weren't rotten on the inside. He might have been a little biased here, he knew that, but he couldn't stand the thought that Stiles might be suffering right in front of them without anybody caring.

Then Stiles got abducted.

Of course it was Peter who noticed his absence first when Stiles didn't show up at his place after school like he had intended to.

They found the jeep abandoned on the side of the road on the way between the school and Peter's apartment. There was blood and Stiles' phone on the seat.

Derek caught a whiff of werewolf but not enough to track the scent. Whoever had taken Stiles was careful.

He sent the pack out to search the town but they didn't find hide nor hair of Stiles or the werewolf.

Hours later they were back at Derek's loft, exhausted and close to ripping each other's throats out in frustration.

They needed a plan but for that they needed Stiles. Usually it was Stiles who put together a plan out of Peter's ideas everybody else dismissed almost out of reflex and bits and pieces he'd gathered from wherever.

At least once he was past the "just kill him" phase Derek hoped was a running gag and not something Stiles really considered. Deep down he knew it wasn't a joke but he counted on Scott and Stiles' dad to act as his moral compass. For some reason Derek had become the third force keeping him on the right path which Stiles probably needed to counter Peter's growing influence.

Stiles had been gone for hours and by now Derek was ready to listen to one of Peter's crazy plans but the older werewolf was at a loss as well. They had searched the town and the preserve but without a clue where to even start it was fruitless. Derek didn't say it out loud but for all he knew Stiles could be two states over by now. He could be dead by now.

They were in the middle of planning a search pattern, at least that gave them the illusion that they were doing something to find Stiles, when Derek's phone vibrated in his pocket.

A video message from an unknown number.

"What is it?" Peter spoke up and all eyes were on Derek now. For a second he debated with himself if he should watch the video in private first.

"A video." Derek answered, decision made. The others would demand to watch it too and on a big screen they could make out more details. He just prayed that they weren't about to watch Stiles' death.

He sent the video over to the TV and pressed play.

A clearly beaten up Stiles sat bound to a chair, head hanging.

Derek ground his teeth but forced himself to stay calm, he couldn't help Stiles if he lost it. Next to him Scott sucked in a sharp breath while Boyd and Erica growled low in their throats.

Tearing his eyes off Stiles, Derek took in the surroundings. A concrete floor and pillars but nothing specific. It looked like some abandoned industrial building but there had to be hundreds of those all over town.

"Hello, Derek." A cheerful voice came out of the speakers but the person stayed behind the camera. "Miss your little bitch?"

Now he couldn't hold back the claws anymore.

"Hey, bitch." The voice called. "Say hello to your alpha."

Slowly Stiles lifted his head and Derek swore that he made eye contact with him through the camera.

"We're having a party here." Stiles said and even managed a lopsided smile. His lip was split and puffy, one eye swollen shut and his face was covered in blood. "Bring the family, it's fun."

He had trouble holding his head up and after a few seconds he gave up and let it drop back down.

"Like he said." The voice spoke again. "We're having a little fun. Don't worry, we're not going to kill your little bitch, just rough him up a little. Wait for our call." And with that the screen went black.

"Interesting." Peter was the first to speak, the others were still in shock. "Go back to the beginning."

He stepped closer to the screen and when Stiles came back into view, beaten and bloody and barely conscious, Peter smiled. He fucking smiled.

Derek lost it there. Without even thinking he had Peter by the throat, shaking him like a rag doll.

"That's what gets you off?" He growled through his fangs. "That's how you like him?"

There were hands on him, Isaac's and Boyd's, trying to hold him back while everything in him screamed to break Peter's neck.

"Derek!" Isaac yelled in his ear. "Don't."

Softer on his other side Boyd said: "He isn't worth it."

And Peter kept smiling.

"I would love to discuss my sex life with you." Sarcasm dripped from his words. "But I have a boyfriend to rescue before he gets himself into even more trouble."

"What do you mean?" Scott asked, an edge in his voice, telling Peter to stop fucking around.

Peter gave Derek a look and reluctantly Derek let go of him.

"Those werewolves are in for a surprise." Peter ignored Derek and stepped back to the TV. Eyes on the freeze frame showing Stiles' beaten body.

"More than one?" Erica asked.

"Our call." Peter repeated. "He said _our call_ , not _my call_."

"What surprise?" Derek demanded, barely restraining himself from wiping that smug grin off his face.

"Stiles isn't as out of it as he wants them to think he is. And he isn't as badly hurt either, trust me I know." He leaned forward to have a better look. Derek felt sick in the stomach, thinking about how Peter knew how Stiles looked out of it and in pain.

"Somebody should really learn how to work the ropes, though." He straightened up and looked around. "Can we go now?"

"You know where he is?" Derek raised his eyebrows.

"Why do you think he told you to let me watch the video?" Peter gave him a look in return before he pointed at one of the pillars in the background. "See this dent? I did this when I was chasing him through this very hall a few weeks ago. So yes, I know exactly where he is."

Done with explaining he turned around and headed for the door.

"Why were you chasing him?" Isaac asked with interest while he sauntered after him.

"It was play night." Peter said as if that explained everything. Maybe it did but that was something to think about later. First they needed to get Stiles back.

The others waited for Derek's nod before they followed Peter outside.

When they arrived at the warehouse Derek heard screaming and trashing coming from inside the building.

He took off running, his pack right on his heel.

First they past a blocked door with a pissed off werewolf on the other side. How Stiles had managed to lock him in Derek didn't know and he only paused long enough to tell Erica and Boyd to stay behind and keep an eye on him.

Then he had to hurry to catch up with Peter.

He heard Stiles before he saw him.

"Who's the bitch now?" He screamed followed by a wet smack. "Who's the bitch? Who. Is. The. Bitch!" Every word came with a smack and something like a whimper but not from Stiles.

When he rounded the corner Derek stopped dead in his tracks. Scott and Isaac almost barreled into him before they came to halt, flanking him.

Stiles stood there, a bloody pipe in his hand and a werewolf at his feet. The werewolf tried to crawl away but Stiles was on him, bringing down the pipe again and again.

Head to toe Stiles was splattered with blood but Derek wasn't sure how much was actually his.

Stiles was still screaming but he'd lost the ability to form words, this was just raw animalistic pain. He doubted that Stiles even noticed that he wasn't alone anymore.

"Stiles." Peter walked over to him. "It's enough."

Stiles didn't seem to hear him. With a scream he hit the werewolf again.

"Stiles." Gently Peter closed his hand around Stiles' white-knuckled grip on the pipe. "He won't hurt you anymore."

It took Stiles a few seconds but then he lifted his head and looked at Peter.

Something broke inside him, his face crumbled and tears started to run down his cheeks. The pipe clattered to the ground.

"Peter." With a wounded cry Stiles fell into Peter's arms.

Derek couldn't look at them, it felt too intimate, so he looked around, trying to reconstruct what had happened here. The chair lay on its side with rope pooled around it. Stiles had gotten free and somehow he'd overpowered two werewolves.

"Peter was right." Isaac said with a grin. "They were in for a surprise."

Derek was no killer so he dragged the wounded werewolf over to where Boyd and Erica had the other one in an iron grip.

Turned out this was a half-cooked plan to lure Derek into a trap by taking his fuck toy, he needed to have another talk about this boyfriend thing with Stiles, so one of the betas could kill him and become alpha.

"Leave Beacon Hills and never come back." Derek told them before he made them run. And they did run.

That taken care of he returned to the hall where Stiles and Peter were on their knees now, still hugging each other tightly, with Scott and Isaac standing awkwardly around.

"We should bring him to the hospital." Derek said quietly to Peter who cradled Stiles' head against his shoulder not caring that his shirt was now soaked with blood, tears and most likely snot.

"No." Stiles said into Peters chest, the word almost lost in dry sobs. "Just take me home, Peter. Take me home."

"Okay." Peter brought them to their feet and then walked him slowly out of the hall. He let Stiles walk on his own but Derek could tell that he was taking most of his weight.

Maybe they were good for each other after all.

Derek looked at Scott and saw understanding dawning on the younger betas face as well. They nodded in silent agreement.

"Man." Isaac said when Peter and Stiles were gone. "Remind me to never piss off Stiles."


End file.
